OYB for Feb 2

One Year Bible Blog: February 2nd readings

Matthew 22
Verses 8-10 stood out for me:

⁸ Then he [the host] said to his slave, "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. (NRSV, emphasis mine)

This certainly speaks of grace to me! The invited guests were unworthy, not because they had been "bad," but because they refused the invitation. Those from the streets didn't earn their way in. Good and bad were treated equally. It was only the one who didn't fully accept the invitation (by dressing for the event) that was cast back out. I know I'm certainly not "special" enough to deserve an invitation, but I hope I can accept it.

Psalm 27
I have to say, this is a beautiful song. David proclaims
that no harm can come to him, because "The LORD is my light and my
salvation." But when you look at some of the other Psalms, you
see a very different David. One who is feeling alone and abandoned. In
a weird sort of way, I find that as comforting as these joyous song.
Because I don't know about you, but I certainly don't always feel that
sense of confidence. The fact that David felt these swings in his
relationship with God gives me permission, if you will, to feel them
myself.

Concerning the Sabbath (comment question from Mike)
While I certainly look forward to "down time, "I can't honestly say that my doing so "honors" the Sabbath. I'm not very good at allowing those times to be used by God. I am working on it, though. Sounds sort of backward, doesn't it? Working on the Sabbath? ;) I've started exploring working on some spiritual disciplines, and I'm hoping that, by being more intentional about it, I can also be more open to God in the Sabbath times as well.